Taste of Beef Auction 
The 2008 MCA Gun of the Year for both youth and adults will be offered in Friday night's Taste of Beef Auction. The Remington Model 870 Express Super Mag and the Model Seven Youth Rifle will be sold. Engraved and dated, the shotgun features both a 26" and 20" barrel while the youth rifle is Remington's popular 7MM-08.
The "Taste of Beef" is scheduled for 6:00 pm on Friday, February 1st, in the Forestry Building at the Ag Museum. Register today.
Mark your calendar for the
61st Mississippi Cattlemen's Association Convention & Trade Show!
February 1 & 2, Regency Hotel & Conference Center
BCIA Annual Meeting
Pfizer Cattlemen's College
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| Beef for Mississippi Troops
At last week's cattlemen's meetings in Lee and Noxubee counties, members labeled packages of beef jerky destined for Mississippi Army and Air National Guard troops stationed in the Middle East.
Packaged in Mississippi and purchased by the Beef Checkoff Program, the popular snack will be shipped to over 600 Mississippi Guardsmen serving in Iraq, Kuwait, and Afghanistan. | |
| USDA Report: Fewer Cattle to Grade Choice or Better
Higher feedlot placements during fall and winter could reduce the percentage of cattle grading Choice or better, according to the January Livestock, Dairy and Poultry Outlook from USDA's Economic Research Service.
Wheat prices are currently high enough that there is not likely to be wheat pasture available for graze-out this spring, the report said, shifting some fed cattle marketings ahead of a normal schedule. Because cattle will have been in feedlots during the winter months, when gains are poorer because animals must utilize feed for body condition maintenance instead of growth, the report predicts fewer cattle will grade Choice or better.
The situation could affect trade by increasing the need for more fed cattle, fed beef or trimmings from Canada. It could also reduce the need for processing beef from Australia, New Zealand and Uruguay, the report said. from meatingplace.com
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Beef Margin Squeeze Seen Continuing in 2008
Beef processors aren't having a very happy new year.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke says the housing slump, harder-to-get credit and higher energy prices will all weigh on consumer spending in 2008. And when those consumers get to the grocery store, continued record hog slaughter and plentiful poultry supplies are giving them cheaper options that will cap retail beef prices, according to analysts interviewed by Meatingplace.com.
"The threats (to the beef industry) from the general economy are much bigger than they were even a few months ago," said Oklahoma State University Livestock Marketing Specialist Derrell Peel.
At the same time, packers haven't been able to make up the difference in feedlot margins as small calf crops in 2007 will translate into fewer cattle to slaughter in 2008 and 2009, according to University of Missouri Agricultural Economist Ron Plain. "Feedlots and packing plants are bidding for a fairly small number of cattle," he said.
There will be a few more cattle to kill in the first quarter of 2008, as the ongoing drought in the southeastern part of the United States has pushed cattle from pastures to feedlots quicker than normal. But that bump will only translate into fewer to slaughter in the second quarter. "Packers are bidding aggressively to keep plants going, pushing cattle prices higher than what they can sell the beef at," said Plain.
"We could see record-high fed cattle prices this spring. That's good for the feedlots but not for the packers," said Peel.
There was bad news for both feedlots and processors on Friday when USDA's January grain stocks report showed low inventories of both soybeans and wheat, boosting their prices along with corn prices, already catapulted by new ethanol-friendly legislation. from meatingplace.com
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Ag Economists Wary of Market Trends
As thousands of cattle producers convene in Reno next month for the 2008 Cattle Industry Annual Convention, discussions won't just be focused on the Farm Bill and country-of-origin labeling.
Many U.S. cattle producers are feeling the pinch of rising feed prices and falling cattle prices. Economists across the ag sector are attributing this to a variety of factors that are hitting the cattle industry simultaneously.
"Right now the top concern among producers and certainly among our cattle feeders is the price of feed," says NCBA's Chief Economist Gregg Doud. "We're seeing new record prices for grains, oilseeds and other feedstuffs. The long-fabled 'beans in the teens' is now a reality. When combined with USDA's surprising corn stocks report last Friday, the result is that corn futures today are above $5 per bushel through December 2010. This has directly contributed to a 17 percent decline in the value of feeder cattle futures since Labor Day."
Doud says the corn price factor combined with record pork production and the fact that we still do not have normalized trade with two of our three largest export markets, is hitting producers' pocketbook hard. Making matters worse are worries about the nation's economy.
"Suddenly the media is throwing around the 'r' word - recession," says Doud. "Beef producers understand that this is relevant to their industry because less disposable income means folks tend to eat out more and buy fewer cuts of meat. Fifty percent of domestically consumed beef is eaten outside the home." |
Russian Trade Update
USDA approved three more beef plants for export to Russia this week as word comes that the first U.S. beef shipment to Russia since December 2003 has cleared Russian customs and has entered the marketplace.
A bilateral trade agreement signed in November 2006 provides access for U.S. boneless and bone-in beef, and variety meats into Russia. NCBA continues to monitor this situation carefully as Russia will likely remain the second largest beef importing nation in the world in 2008 at 1.1 million metric tons versus 725,000 mt for Japan, according to USDA's latest estimates.
Mexican Trade Update
Mexican Trade Update: USDA met with Mexican officials last week to discuss the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which was scheduled to be fully implemented on January 1st of this year. To address trade concerns in the livestock sector, the United States and Mexico agreed to establish a working group. The livestock working group will meet by mid-February. NCBA is hopeful this discussion will lead to the movement of older cattle and breeding stock into Mexico as prompted by the final BSE minimal risk region rule implemented November 19, 2007. | |
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Cattle Market Notes
Friday, January 18, 2008
Dr. John Anderson, Mississippi State University -
Last week, cash fed cattle business was very slow to develop. This week, feeders hoped to gain back a dollar or two, but the market seemed to get increasingly hostile as the week wore on. On Thursday in the Western Corn Belt, cash prices broke below $90, with some cattle trading hands at $89 live, $142 to $143 dressed. On Friday, dressed sales continued at that price in Nebraska.
With corn futures going nuts on Friday and Monday, things were kind of rough in the feeder cattle market this week. At Oklahoma City feeder steer and heifer prices were $2 to $4 lower. Prices on stocker steers and heifers were $3 to $6 lower. At West Plains, Missouri, prices on all classes were called $2 to $3 lower, though some instances of steady prices were noted on some 4-weight calves and 7-weight steers.
At Mississippi auctions this week steer prices were called $5 to $10 lower, and heifer prices were called $1 to $5 lower. Receipts were just over 6,500 head, up about 600 head from the same week a year ago. Steer prices at Mississippi auctions this week were reported as follows: 250-300 pounds, $125-$130; 300-400 pounds, $115-$125; 400-450 pounds, $105-$118; 450-500 pounds, $95-$105; 500-600 pounds, $88-$95; 600-700 pounds, $80-$88; 700-800 pounds, $80-$85.
Live Cattle futures prices were lower this week. The continued push higher in corn futures on Monday was somewhat supportive of deferred contracts early in the week, suggesting a reduction in meat production for later this year. Live cattle firmed up a little on Friday on ideas that the bulk of this week's cash business would come in at over $90. Closing prices on Friday (with change from last Friday's close in parentheses) were as follows: February $91.00 (-0.35); April $94.25 (-1.25); June $93.27 (-0.83); August $96.05 (-0.50); October $100.20 (-1.07).
Feeder Cattle futures closing prices on Friday (with change from last Friday's close in parentheses): January $97.67 (-1.83); March $102.30 (-0.20); April $105.92 (+0.22); May $108.12 (+0.07).
Corn futures slipped some on Friday despite the fact that wheat futures were sharply higher. March corn futures closed on Friday at $4.98 ¼, up 3 ¼ cents from last Friday's close.
. Dr. Anderson's complete report can be accessed from www.mscattlemen.org |
Don't Miss NCBA's Cattlemen to Cattlemen - On this week's Cattlemen to Cattlemen, beginning at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, January 22nd,
NCBA's Cattlemen to Cattlemen kicks off its second year on the air when we'll learn more about the topics of artificial insemination and bull selection.
Plus, we visit North Dakota cattle producer Julie Ellingson to spend a day in her life. And we get ready for Superbowl Sunday with some great beef appetizers that will be the highlight of your gameday party!
The show will be rebroadcast Wednesday at 3:30 a.m. and Saturday at 9:00 a.m. Make sure you tune in to NCBA's Cattlemen to Cattlemen on RFD-TV. For more information or to check out past episodes, visit www.cattlementocattlemen.org
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Calendar of Events
January
25 Hinds CCA
28 Feeder Calf
Marketing,
Distance Learning
Network
February
1 & 2 - MCA Convention & Trade Show
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Meyer Natural Angus Acquires Laura's Lean
Lexington, Ky.-based Laura's Lean Beef was sold to Colorado-based Meyer Natural Angus on Dec. 28, making the combined companies among the largest suppliers of beef raised without antibiotics or growth hormones.
Laura's Lean Beef will continue to operate at its Lexington location, with founder Laura Freeman acting as a consultant to the company and John Tobe continuing on as chairman of the board.
The companies will combine for improved cattle procurement, processing, logistical and other efficiencies, while maintaining mostly independent control over their individual products.
from Drovers |
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New Tyson Cattle Pricing Program Discounts Heavier Animals
Tyson Foods is phasing in a new cattle pricing grid designed to reward producers of animals that best meet customer needs - namely, animals that are not too heavy.
Under Tyson's new "True Value Grid," beef carcasses weighing more than 1,000 pounds are discounted $15 per hundredweight, while those more than 1,050 pounds are discounted $35 per hundredweight. The grid also incorporates USDA's regional weekly weighted average prices as well as average premiums and discounts based on quality.
from meatingplace.com. | |
